Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm (UK time)
Matthew 25: 1 - 13
There is a need to be diligent as women in travail to do and be what the Lord
commands. We can be Calvary believers as women in travail, but yet be carried
away by carelessness, so that even at the end, Jesus will say He does not even
know us (Verse 12).
Verse 5-6 – They all heard the shout of the coming of the bridegroom. Jesus was
real to them; they knew His voice, His Word, but five were not really ready; they
were not truly following – John 8:31-32
(KJV) – “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed
on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Verse 9 – The wise asked
the foolish to “go and buy”; they could not share. They knew where to get the
“oil”; they probably had been going there to buy themselves. But they were
“wise”, so they were prudent to buy extra for their lamps.
This “oil” is a personal provision. I have to get mine. No one can get it for me and what I have is not “shareable”. Jesus is this oil. 2 Kings 4 (Widow’s Oil), we see that the very life of Jesus, is this oil. However, He seeks vessels, containers into which He can pour His life. This oil cannot be poured just anywhere, vessels are required. The wise virgins carried this “Jesus” sufficiently “in” themselves.
This “oil” is a personal provision. I have to get mine. No one can get it for me and what I have is not “shareable”. Jesus is this oil. 2 Kings 4 (Widow’s Oil), we see that the very life of Jesus, is this oil. However, He seeks vessels, containers into which He can pour His life. This oil cannot be poured just anywhere, vessels are required. The wise virgins carried this “Jesus” sufficiently “in” themselves.
Time was of the essence. The wise virgins knew that even if they decided to
share, there may not be enough time to go and buy and still meet the
bridegroom.
Ephesians 5:15 – 17 (TLB) – “So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to.”
Ephesians 5:15 – 17 (TLB) – “So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to.”
Our obedience must not be delayed; what He asks/commands, we must do
immediately. It is a personal walk. He alone knows what He desires our lives as
women in travail to be and we individually in our hearts know what God is
addressing specifically in our lives.
Verse 11 – The foolish virgins returned; they had purchased oil and
were now ready to meet the bridegroom, but it was too late. The door had been
shut, it was over and mercy was gone. There was no more opportunity to repent and obey. It was over! Just as the oil stopped flowing in the story of the widow, it was
over for the foolish virgins.
Verse 13 – Stay awake, be prepared, be diligent, be
focused, do not be distracted, do not be weary.
Woman – Carrier of nations!
Woman – Easy to approach (Eve)!
Woman – Her seed/labour/travail,
will bruise the head of the serpent!
Prayers
Prayers
- Lord, thank You for Your women in travail; thank You for identifying and equipping us to travail thus far. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, our Helper who has been faithful.
- 2 Kings 4:1-6 (KJV) – “Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.”
Instructions:
1. Go, borrow vessels.
2. Shut yourself in.
3. Pour into the borrowed vessels and set aside.
- Lord, help Your women to be obedient to Your every instruction, just like this widow. Keep us from distractions that can lead to disobeying Your specific instructions, from endless un-Godly chatter, and being carried away form our instruction to “Go”.
- Lord, remove every familiarity in our eyes of You; let our hearts, like children, be always in awe of who You are. Father! Remove head knowledge and let our hearts know that it is Jesus really travailing in us.
- Give us a sense of urgency – time is short! Our making haste and being prudent will affect our own children, homes, our locality, our churches, our nation; we must be diligent in all that You are calling us into and be faithful. So much is at stake, and God is counting on us for our own tasks!
- Luke 2:36-38 – what was she (Anna) fasting and praying for all this time? The redemption of Israel; Jesus! Lord, baptise us with the devotion of Anna to see Your kingdom come, Jesus, the “Oil”! May we not get weary or discouraged and abandon the labour! If we do, just like the foolish virgins, the door will be shut on us. Lord, help us!
Silent Prayers (All
Muted)
Lord, in Your mercy, reveal those areas in our lives where we have not been diligent, those areas that hinder us from fully carrying Jesus. Reveal it to us now. Help us to settle these issues finally and be diligent in our personal walk with You henceforth. May we not be carried away or hide under the umbrella that we are in a “group”, or that we are “heart cryers”; we must individually make our calling and election certain.
If half of the virgins could be distracted (note that they were unmarried and not burdened with marriage/family issues; they were as it were, free to totally obey and be devoted to Jesus) and they missed it when the bridegroom came, then the married travailing women must be much more diligent and committed to Jesus as the enemy shows no mercy. Likewise the unmarried!
Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm (UK time)
